masterofmagicfandomcom-20200216-history
Mortu the Black Knight
| upkeep_cost = | req = and at least Spellbook | moves = | melee = * | ranged = | defense = | resist = | hits = * | item_slot_1 = | item_slot_2 = | item_slot_3 = | abilities = Legendary Blademaster Constitution Might Magic Immunity Armor Piercing First Strike | random_abilities = 1 (Fighter) }} Mortu the Black Knight is one of the 35 Hero units featured in Master of Magic. Mortu is a Champion. He may randomly appear for hire if a wizard has at least and at least Spellbook, in which case his Hiring Cost is by default. Alternatively, Mortu can be summoned using the Summon Champion spell. Mortu is easily one of the most powerful Melee Attack Heroes in the game by default, and possibly the most powerful indeed. With a high default strength, very high , great bonuses, and additional First Strike and Armor Piercing abilities, he can utterly wipe the floor with his opponents. Each Experience Level makes Mortu more dangerous, to the point where he might be able to eventually take on the strongest opponents all on his own. Additionally, Mortu has the Legendary ability, which will increase his employer's score and thus allow recruiting larger armies (and a better chance to gain more Heroes, Mercenaries and Magical Items through random events). He also gains an extra Random Ability from the "Fighter" category, which could make him even more deadly and/or useful than he already is! Mortu may be equipped with the basic fare of Magical Items. He will not be able to cast spells, and thus can focus on gaining various bonuses to increase his attack strength even further, or to concentrate on becoming extremely survivable through defensive bonuses. Mortu's Upkeep Cost is per turn, unless he has randomly acquired the Noble trait. General Description Mortu the Black Knight is, quite possibly, the toughest and most dangerous Hero ever to walk the lands of Arcanus and Myrror. This battle-hardened knight is a deadly fighter, knowledgeable in all methods of hand-to-hand combat. He is a war machine on two legs (or four, if you count his pitch-black horse), and has no fear of any opponent. Stories of his fearlessness (and of the atrocities he is willing to commit in the name of his masters) have spread far across the land. Mortu lives up to his title by dressing entirely in a thick black suit of plate armor. His face is hidden behind a menacing helmet, almost entirely solid but for a few slits through which he can see and breathe. Two ram's horns extend out the sides of the helmet, increasing the terror value of this outfit. Mortu carries a large purple shield into combat, along with his own sharp sword. Initial Properties All data below assumes Mortu is at his lowest Experience Level, and without any Magical Items or Random Abilities - After all, any Hero can become devastatingly powerful after gaining several levels and powerful items. Please refer to the tables and chapters below for more information. Attack Properties Mortu the Black Knight possesses only a Melee Attack - but it's a deadly one. Its default strength is , which is already very impressive - and this is immediately increased to thanks to Mortu's innate Might ability. With a default To Hit chance of , he can be expected to deliver about per attack - a massive amount which will penetrate almost any type of armor! Mortu's attack also enjoys two very important and quite devastating properties: Armor Piercing and First Strike. With Armor Piercing, Mortu's attacks will temporarily reduce his target's ability to defend itself. The target's score is reduced to 50% of its original value (rounded down!), making it much easier for Mortu to inflict damage, even to well-armored targets. As his attack grows stronger, Mortu may be able to instantly kill entire enemy units! Furthermore, when Mortu makes a voluntary attack against any target, his Melee Damage is delivered first - thanks to the First Strike ability. This means that any enemy killed by Mortu's attack do not get the chance to retaliate with their own Melee Damage. Note that First Strike only works when Mortu is attacking voluntarily - not when he is Counter Attacking to an enemy assault. Finally, as Mortu gains Experience, his score will rapidly rise thanks to the Blademaster ability. This boosts his damage output by a wide margin - truly making this one of the strongest Heroes in the game. Defensive Properties By default, Mortu the Black Knight has a Defense score of - about average for a low-level Hero. He can block about from any incoming attack. While this can adequately protect against low-tier Normal Units, it may struggle to fend off damage from more serious attacks. On the other hand, Mortu possesses one of the highest initial health scores of any Hero, at by default. Better yet - his innate Constitution immediately raises this to . As a result, Mortu can take copious amounts of damage during combat without falling, and will become more and more resilient as he gains further Experience Levels. This more than makes up for any deficiencies in . Mortu is one of the few units that possesses an innate Magic Immunity. This means that only a few types of enemy spells can actually be targeted at Mortu (Web, Cracks Call, and dispelling magics) - all other spells will refuse to target Mortu altogether. Thus he is completely safe from Curses and all direct-damage spells! Furthermore, with Magic Immunity Mortu's score is considered to be whenever he is struck by a - making him virtually immune to such attacks as well! For cases where Mortu's Magic Immunity does not apply (such as against Special Attacks and non-targeted spells), Mortu possesses a default Resistance score of . This makes him somewhat vulnerable to such effects. It will take at least before he can become immune to some of these effects, assuming no Magical Items or Random Abilities augment his Resistance. Other Properties Mortu the Black Knight has a basic Hero's Movement Allowance of . This is good for speeding up his movement on the overland map, through plain land tiles like Grassland and Deserts. During battle, Mortu may need to use his speed to stay away from stronger enemies, or in order to reach his targets more easily. Mortu possesses the Legendary ability. While Mortu is under a wizard's employ, that wizard's Fame score is increased by for each of Mortu's , including the first level. This helps maintain larger armies (by reducing the total Upkeep Costs for Normal Units and Heroes). It also helps attract other high-tier Heroes and Mercenaries to the wizard's employ, as well as Item Merchants offering their goods. The bonus to is lost if Mortu is removed from the payroll (through either dismissal or death), returning the wizard's score to normal. Experience The following table illustrates how Mortu's various skills and attributes increase as he gains Experience. His innate Might, Blademaster and Constitution bonuses are already taken into account in the values below. Attributes not appearing on this list do not improve with Experience. Also note that Mortu's chosen Random Ability may also increase with Experience, and may adjust any of the attributes listed below! Average Damage Output The following table shows Mortu's average output with each of his attacks, based on his current Experience Level. The effects of the Might and Blademaster abilities have already been taken into account in the values below. You can use the checkboxes to see the effect of some of the Random Abilities that Mortu may occasionally possess. Note that this table completely ignores bonuses from Magical Items, if any. Improvement Overview Mortu is one of the few Heroes who are already quite dangerous at the start of their careers. He will only become more and more dangerous with each and every he gains. First and foremost, Mortu's strength will soar quite rapidly, as will his score, thanks to Might and Blademaster respectively. At ("Hero") he can already take on most low-tier and possibly even some mid-tier Normal Units with no fear. By the time he reaches ("Champion"), Mortu can easily wipe out such units with a single attack, and can effectively engage most Fantastic Units in the game! He may be able to clear out entire Encounters all on his own. Mortu's also rise at an impressive rate (thanks to his Constitution), which will help very much when engaging . If First Strike is utilized appropriately against , Mortu can minimize the amount of damage he takes, and can thus engage large enemy forces single-handedly. Improving Mortu's score (usu. through good items) will help even more in this respect. Mortu's Legendary ability also improves with levels. As Mortu's level goes up, his employer becomes more , thus attracting more Heroes, Mercenaries and Item Merchants. Also, it reduces Upkeep Costs for Normal Units and Heroes across the empire, allowing you to recruit a larger army or invest in your economy. Ability Overview Legendary * While this Hero is under a Wizard's employ, that Wizard's Fame score is increased by per every the Hero possesses, including the first level. * If the Hero is lost or dismissed, the bonus points are removed. Blademaster * This Hero gains for every , starting at ("Myrmidon"). * This To Hit bonus applies to all of the Hero's attacks. Constitution * This Hero receives to his maximum health per each , including the first level. Might * This Hero gains to his Melee Attack with each , including the first level. Magic Immunity * This unit may not be directly targeted by any enemy spells, including Curses and direct-damage spells. * The unit's Defense score is boosted to whenever targeted by a or Breath Attack. * The unit's Resistance score is increased by against Fear Attacks, Gaze Attacks and all Touch Attacks but Poison. Armor Piercing * Whenever this unit attacks an enemy target (whether with a Melee Attack or Ranged Attack) the target's rating is temporarily assumed to be 50% lower than it really is. * This ability makes it easier to cause damage to heavily-armored targets. First Strike * When this unit makes a Melee Attack during its own turn, it delivers its Melee Damage before the target does. * Any enemy killed in the First Strike do not get to deal their own damage to the attacker. * First Strike damage is dealt after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any). * First Strike does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking (i.e. when retaliating to an attack by an enemy unit). Random Abilities When a new game is started, the program randomly chooses 1 additional ability for Mortu. This is called a Random Ability. The selection is done completely at random (while observing a limit on the strength of certain abilities) from the list below: Whichever Random Ability is picked, it is permanent. Mortu will never re-randomize his abilities during the course of a single game. He may, however, pick a different ability in the next game. Mortu may choose abilities that he already has, such as Might, Blademaster, Constitution or Legendary. This would upgrade the corresponding ability to its "Super" version, increasing the benefits from that ability by +50%. While this is somewhat desirable, note that it is often better to get a completely new ability than upgrading an existing one. In particular, Mortu will benefit from Agility more than improving his existing abilities. Agility covers his initial deficiencies in , making him very difficult to damage. With an already-high score, this allows Mortu to engage very powerful enemies, or slews of weaker enemies, with little danger. Even the Noble ability is useful - after all, it negates Mortu's high Upkeep Cost and actually adds to your treasury every turn, which (on top of the reduced empire-wide Upkeep Costs given by the Legendary ability) can amount to a massive economic boost to your empire. Armsmaster and Leadership are probably less desirable for this Hero. Both will affect other units stacked with Mortu, but only Normal Units and other Heroes. Since Mortu can only be acquired by -wielding wizards, and such wizards tend to use Undead units and Fantastic Creatures more often than Normal Units, these abilities are somewhat wasted. Charmed overall will not come in handy too often, since Mortu has Magic Immunity and cannot be targeted by most enemy Curses. He is still somewhat vulnerable to certain types of area-effect spells and Special Attacks, and so may end up benefiting from Charmed - just not very often. Equipment Mortu the Black Knight has the following item slots: This set-up contributes primarily to Melee combat. This is excellent for Mortu, who is essentially a Melee-oriented unit. Recommended Items With Mortu's rapidly-growing Attack Strength and , he has very few deficiencies that need to be covered by equipment. Furthermore, his Random Ability can end up covering one or more of these deficiencies, making a Hero who will generally benefit from any kind of item-related bonuses. Note of course that bonuses which increase magical prowess can be ignored, since Mortu has no spell-casting abilities. Weapon :If Mortu has randomly picked Agility as his Random Ability, you may safely equip him with an Axe, preferably one with extremely high Attack Strength and/or bonuses. A Sword, as usual, is always a good choice to augment . :Note that bonuses will only be useful early on in Mortu's career. By ("Super Hero"), his score is already maximized and does not benefit from the bonus any further. Such a bonus would then only be useful as a redundancy - to prevent Mortu from losing damage output when affected by enemy Curses. :You may safely ignore any weapon that gives extra ("Spell Skill"), as Mortu may not utilize that bonus. Armor :Mortu has an initial deficiency in , and thus will likely want to wear as heavy an armor as you can acquire for him. Though his is very high, and can absorb plenty of damage, it's always better to prevent that damage from coming through in the first place. : bonuses are less useful for Mortu, since he cannot be targeted by enemy Curses. They still have some potential applications though - protecting Mortu from certain types of Special Attacks and area-effect spells. Note that if Mortu has the Charmed ability, he does not need such bonuses at all. :Finally, Movement Allowance bonuses may be extremely desirable if they can be acquired. Remember that Mortu has First Strike, and must attack voluntarily to utilize this ability. Therefore, high movement speed allows him to move in, make an attack, and then back away from the target - all in the same turn. It also allows him to reach his targets quickly, preventing them from attacking the rest of Mortu's army. Fast movement speed also allows Mortu to clear many Encounter zones rapidly. Jewelry :Picking the right piece of Jewelry for Mortu can be very tricky, and depends greatly on which Random Ability he has picked. :Without Agility, Mortu's primary deficiency is , and even heavy armor is not always enough to offset this. Therefore, Jewelry with bonuses is highly recommended. This will allow Mortu to go up against some extremely-powerful opponents by the time he reaches a median Experience Level. bonuses may also come in handy, especially when facing enemy Fantastic Units with strong Special Attacks - but are otherwise unnecessary. :If either of his deficiencies is covered, a Jewelry piece with powerful Attack Strength bonuses is recommended. bonuses become less and less important as Mortu gains Experience. :Again, Movement Allowance can be very useful for Mortu as explained for armor, above. Some players consider this almost as important as bonuses, since Mortu's First Strike makes offense his best method of defense. :Any of the magic-related bonuses given by Jewelry can be completely ignored. Acquisition Mortu the Black Knight can be acquired in one of three different methods: * By hiring him as he comes to visit your Fortress town, * By casting the Summon Champion spell, * By Resurrecting him after he has been killed in battle. Hiring Mortu Every once in a while, a Hero will arrive at your Fortress town to ask for employment. The frequency of this event depends on your current score, the number of Heroes already under your employ, and whether or not you have particular Retorts that affect this chance. In order for Mortu to appear for hire in this way, you must meet several requirements: # You must have at least . # You must have at least Spellbook. # You must have sufficient in your treasury to hire Mortu (more on this below). # Mortu must not have already been killed in battle. Since the game randomly chooses which Hero appears during this event, there's no guarantee that Mortu will ever appear. The chance, however, increases if the number of other valid Heroes dwindles (such as when most other Heroes have died in battle). The default Hiring Cost for Mortu is . This is reduced to if your wizard has the Charismatic Retort. If you do not have this much at the start of a turn (after paying all Upkeep Costs), Mortu will not appear for hire. In fact, if he is picked as the Hero who approaches you, and you lack the money to hire him, you are effectively forfeiting your chance to hire any Hero this turn. Also, Mortu will only ever appear for hire if you possess at least 1 Spellbook from the . He is one of only 2 Heroes with such a requirement. He will be useful to any wizard though - even those who do not specialize in . After agreeing to hire Mortu (you can always refuse), you may give him any name you choose - he will be known as " the Black Knight". His overland unit will appear at your Fortress town or, if that town's garrison is full, next to your Fortress town. Summoning Mortu As a Champion, Mortu the Black Knight can only be summoned using the Summon Champion spell. Once the spell is completed, the game chooses a random Champion to bring to your Fortress from a list of all available and valid Champions. Therefore, there is no guarantee that Mortu will appear when this spell is cast, unless all other Champions are unavailable. Mortu is only considered a valid summon if the casting wizard owns at least Spellbook. If the wizard does not possess such a spellbook, the Summon Champion spell will never select him - even if all other Heroes have been summoned already. A wizard who collects his/her first Spellbook during the game, as a reward for defeating a difficult Encounter, can now summon Mortu as normal. Again, you get a chance to agree or refuse to hire Mortu. If you agree, he will appear in your Fortress town and/or next to it. If Mortu is hired through the use of Summon Champion, there is no need to pay any Hiring Cost. However, you may still need to pay an Upkeep Cost (see below). Resurrecting Mortu As with other Heroes, it is theoretically possible for a wizard to bring Mortu back to life after he had been killed in battle, using the Resurrection spell. However, Mortu's hiring requirements include having at least Spellbook. Therefore, Mortu's employer by definition has no Spellbooks (you can never have both and books), and thus would not have access to the Resurrection spell either. As a result, unless cheats are somehow employed, it should be impossible to Resurrect Mortu. Once he dies in your service, he is gone forever. Upkeep Costs Once Mortu is in your employ, you must pay him an Upkeep Cost of at the start of each and every turn. Failure to pay this price due to lack of results in Mortu leaving your employ. This is not permanent however: Mortu may still be acquired in any of the above methods with no penalty. Note that if Mortu picks the Noble Random Ability, he will demand no Upkeep Costs - and instead contribute to your treasury every turn! Alternate Names Other wizards can also have a Black Knight, but they are different characters (what happens to one has no effect on the others), and go by different names, as follows: Category:Units Category:Heroes Category:Champions